www.WHEC.com

Neighbors and parents hold rally to keep neighborhood school open

Posted at: 04/23/2013 9:49 PM
Updated at: 04/23/2013 11:49 PM

A proposed school merger has people living in one Rochester neighborhood concerned. They don't want their school to move.

Neighbors and members of School No. 10 Parent Teacher Organization held a rally Tuesday afternoon. They want the city school district to keep the Dr. Walter Cooper Academy in its current location on Congress Avenue, instead of merging it with School No. 1 near Cobbs Hill Park.

People at Tuesday's rally told the school is a big part of the 19th Ward neighborhood.

Ann Marie Rosenfeld, lives in neighborhood, said, "I see them outside every day doing their gymnastics, playing games and having fun, and it would be a shame to lose that."

LaShay Harris, 19th Ward Community Association, said, "I understand there are a lot of changes going on in the city school district but now we have something that's good and we want it to remain."

The Rochester City School District says Superintendent Vargas met with families from Dr. Walter Cooper Academy and appreciates their concerns. A spokesperson says the Board of Education has requested alternatives to the proposal. Dr. Walter Cooper Academy is a city wide school, meaning students from anywhere in the city can attend. The district says most of the students are from the northeast and northwest sections of Rochester.